A Tablespoon of Temptation (A Recipe for Love Novel Book 1)

by Kelly Collins

  “Some, but most are just surprises, and the nature of a surprise is that it catches you unaware. I’m not a fan.”

  He took a couple of deep breaths. “I have something important to tell you.” He opened his mouth to blurt it out when his phone buzzed, telling him he had a meeting. “But it will have to wait until later. I’ve got a meeting I need to get to.” He dumped his remaining salad into her trash can. “I really need to talk to you later, okay?”

  She dropped her fork. “Are you breaking up with me?”

  He chuckled. “Nope, it’s something else.”

  “Terminal illness?”

  He shook his head. “Nope.”

  “You’re moving.”

  He bent over and brushed his lips across hers. “Nothing like that. Let’s have dinner out, and I’ll tell you.”

  She exhaled a held breath and smiled. “Dinner sounds good.”

  “I’ll be on twelve if you need me.” He left her office feeling hopeful. Dani was a logical thinker. Once he told her his reasoning, she’d understand and be okay with it.

  When he got to room 1215, he didn’t knock because he had a key. Through the door, he could hear his sister on the phone, and she wasn’t happy.

  He let himself in quietly, not wanting to disturb her call.

  “Unbelievable,” she said. When she turned around and saw him standing there, her hands flew in the air along with her phone and coffee. The phone landed on the bed, the coffee on her chest. The dark roast bled into her white silk blouse.

  “Why do you do that? Don’t sneak up on people.” She stared down at her shirt. “You’re lucky I buy my favorites in bulk.” She marched past him, grabbed the robe from the closet, and shut herself in the bathroom. The water ran for a few minutes, and she grumbled for a few more. She reappeared wrapped in the terry-cloth robe. “Got most of it out, but now I’ll have to stay until it dries or call Willetta and see if she can help a girl out.”

  “First world problems. Stop complaining about a coffee stain when there are people who don’t have coffee.”

  She fisted her hips. “Don’t talk to me about privileged problems.”

  “As for coffee spills, between you and Dani, I’m two for two.” He walked to the desk where she’d laid out the architectural plans he’d drawn up for the spa. “I snuck up on her once too.”

  Her face softened, and a smile lifted her lips. Allie looked so much like their mother it was uncanny.

  “How are things going with Dani?”

  “Allie,” he got breathless thinking about her. “She’s the one. I’m hopelessly in love with her. She’s sweet and considerate. She puts her all into everything, even if it’s a failure.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not asking her to bake my birthday cake.”

  “We’ll have Flynn make yours. You want it several tiers with pretty flowers and candied pearls?”

  “It’s going to be my birthday, not my wedding.” Picking up a highlighter, she stared down at the plans and drew a circle around the treatment rooms. “Besides, you’ve got a few months to prepare.”

  Allie had a big bash yearly. She didn’t believe in limiting herself to milestone birthdays. Every year deserved a party.

  “What’s wrong with the treatment rooms?”

  “We need to lose one to expand the others. No one wants a massage in the closet.” She drew over the plans with a pink highlighter. “Like this.” She turned to look at him. “Speaking of keeping things in the closet, when are you going to tell her who you really are? The longer you wait, the harder it will be for both of you.”

  His stomach twisted. “I would have told her at lunch if she weren’t running late from an interview, and you weren’t waiting for me.” He glanced at the plans. “I’ll get them redrawn tonight. Right now, I have to out myself to Dani. You’re right, the longer I wait, the messier it gets.”

  She walked him to the door.

  As he stepped away, she reached out, fisted his shirt, and yanked him back. “Between all your other commitments, we don’t get to see each other enough.” She tugged him closer and kissed his cheek. “I love you.” He cupped her face like he did Dani’s, only this time the gesture was full of brotherly love. “I love you too.”

  When he turned to leave, he found Dani there. “Is this what you needed to tell me?” She spun around and walked into the nearby stairwell. He could hear her heels on the concrete stairs. Her steps were no longer a light tip-tap, but a boom, boom, boom like a grenade launcher on rapid-fire.

  “Oh hell, I need to talk to her.”

  Allie stopped him from moving. “No way. Give her a minute to think and to calm down. Going after her now will get you killed.”

  “If I wait, she’ll have more time to believe exactly what she believes. That you and I …” He shook his head. “Gross.”

  “Give me one second. Don’t go anywhere.” She rushed into the room and came back seconds later fastening the last button of her wet shirt. “I’ll go talk to her.”

  He rushed toward the elevator because Allie would never take the stairs. “The truth can’t come from you. It has to come from me.”

  She waited minutes for the car, then entered and pressed the 13th floor. “Fine, I won’t tell her anything other than you’re not my lover.” She shook her head. “Yuck.”

  Chapter 19

  Danielle

  Back in her office, Danielle paced the floor. She thought her heart hurt when she caught Chris cheating on her, but somehow this was worse because James knew her wound and picked at the scab, anyway. He was the worst sort of man.

  “You’re so stupid.” She saw the cup of coffee he had brought her at lunch sitting on the desk. She picked it up and flung it at the wall. It ran down the beige paint like the tears running down her cheeks. Streaks of hurt and sadness and betrayal.

  After five laps around her desk, she flopped into her chair and moved the mouse to wake up her computer. She had no choice about her next move.

  “I have to quit.” She lowered her head to the hard surface. “What the hell am I going to do?”

  She needed to talk to someone, but the person she wanted to speak to was Allie, and she was the problem. Calling Trish would give her a shoulder to cry on, but once the tears were gone, she’d end up with another visit to Aunt Freida. Why was it that people blissfully in love thought everyone should be? Love was like a sweater. To some, it was warm and soft and fuzzy, and to others, it itched and irritated, but to Danielle, there didn’t seem to be the perfect feel or fit.

  “You should have known,” she chastised herself. “Rules protect people.” She lifted her hand and pounded her fists on the top of the desk. “Don’t date someone in the workplace.”

  She stared at her hand. “Maybe a big ugly tattoo will work.” She picked up her pen and wrote— “Don’t be an idiot. Work is for work”—on her hand.

  She pulled up a blank page. Work was for work she thought, but now there wouldn’t be a job. Not at Luxe anyway. How was she supposed to work for a woman who was sleeping with her boyfriend? “Ex-boyfriend,” she reminded herself. She’d lost everything. Somehow losing James seemed worse than losing her job. She could find another job, but he’d crawled into her heart and changed everything. Losing Chris didn’t hurt past the betrayal because he brought little to the marriage. James brought so much, and the void would hollow her out.

  She looked at the blank screen and started the letter as one would,

  Dear Ms. Parks,

  She immediately erased that and typed,

  Dear Hussy,

  She wanted to call her a scumbag whore, but that might take it too far considering James appeared a willing accomplice with his cheek cupping I love you. How many times did a girl have to have sex with him to earn those words? Somewhere deep inside, she wanted them. Kind of like a trophy of some sort.

  She backspaced until the page was clean.

  To Whom It May Concern:

  Due to recent

  In light of

&n
bsp; How did she resign from her job when all she felt was murderous rage?

  She began again. Short and to the point.

  To Whom It May Concern:

  I QUIT!!!!!!

  Not so sincerely,

  Danielle Morgan

  She sent the page to the printer, scribbled her signature on the bottom, and was searching for an envelope when Allie walked in.

  Danielle ignored her or at least tried to, but Allie was hard to ignore with her red hair. Then there was the wet shirt that looked remarkably similar to her wall.

  The coffee stains didn’t go unnoticed by Allie either. “I see you’ve added an artistic touch.” She walked over and touched the still damp wall.

  Danielle found a box of envelopes in the side drawer. She fought with the fold to make it fit and gave up. Instead, she bent it any which way and shoved it into the envelope.

  She wanted to ball it up and throw it at Allie’s pretty face. Shove it down her wet shirt and give her a third boob. Maybe force feed her the first cake she’d ever made, but she couldn’t because until she handed her that letter, she was still on Luxe’s payroll and still working for the woman in front of her.

  “I want to explain,” Allie began.

  Tossing her hands in the air, Danielle dropped the envelope to the table. “You don’t need to explain.” She lowered her hands and slid it across the table.

  Allie pushed it back. “If this is your resignation letter, I’m not accepting it. What you saw is not what you think you saw.”

  “I know what I saw. I saw the man I love give himself to someone else.”

  “You love him?”

  Seeing Allie smile made Danielle want to hurt her worse. It was a good thing her pen had rolled off the table, or she would have used it as a weapon. Death by Bic wouldn’t be pleasant.

  “I did, but I don’t share, and I’ve found most men aren’t worth fighting for.”

  “James is.”

  Danielle growled, which sounded more like the clearing of the throat of a flu patient. “I won’t fight you for him. He’s all yours.”

  Allie moved around the desk to stand beside her. “You and I need to talk. One thing you need to know right now is I’ve never slept with James, nor would I sleep with him.” She made a face like she’d tasted something bad. “Let’s grab some coffee and cake, and I’ll explain what I can.”

  “I threw away the cake in the lounge.”

  “I wasn’t talking about that cake. We need good cake. Let’s hit Pikes Perk and chat.” She looked at her shirt and pointed to an unmarred section. “Besides, I’ve missed a spot.”

  Danielle didn’t know what to think. Allie wasn’t behaving like someone caught doing something despicable. She was trying to talk to her as if she were a friend. Someone like Trish, who would listen for hours and formulate a plan.

  “I’ll go as long as your aunt isn’t a matchmaker, and you don’t plan to make me her next client.”

  Allie cocked her head. “Nope, my aunt is a movie star. She lives in Malibu and is on her fourth husband. Some women have all the luck.”

  “Some have none.” Danielle would put herself in the latter column. She’d also put Allie’s aunt there too, but then again, was four times lucky? She imagined it was all perspective.

  They walked down the hallway. When they turned the corner to get to the elevator, James was standing there.

  Danielle held up her hand. “Not now.”

  He ignored her request. “Please listen to me. It’s not what you think.”

  She walked past him. “I need a minute or thirty.” She wanted to run back and pound on his chest and throw herself into his arms, but she needed information. Information only Allie could give her because desperate men said anything to get back into bed.

  She followed her to Pikes Perk, and Allie ordered two Americanos. One decaffeinated with nonfat milk and nonfat vanilla syrup. For the second, she told the barista to fill it with a third cup sugar and then add the coffee.

  “How did you know?”

  “My b—James has picked up coffee for you before, and I’ve seen how much sugar he puts in your cup. I don’t see why you bother with the coffee.”

  “Why do you bother at all? There’s absolutely nothing in that cup when you get it.”

  “James says the same thing. In fact, he calls it a cup of nothing.”

  The barista handed them their coffees, and they took a table by the window. No one spoke for the first few minutes.

  “How long have you known James?” Danielle asked. She figured she’d get it out of the way. Would it make a difference to her if their relationship was long-term, or an instant attraction they acted on in haste? Allie and James both said it wasn’t what she thought, but that’s what a guilty person would say.

  “All my life really. He was there from the beginning.”

  Danielle sipped her coffee. “That’s what it was like for my parents. They knew each other since birth. It was as if they were born for each other.” The weight in her chest made it hard to breathe. She looked down at the words written on her hand. Don’t be an idiot. Work is for work.

  “James and I were not born to be together.” She touched her chin and appeared to choose her words carefully. “We have a long history, but it’s not sexual. I’d hate to lose you over a misunderstanding. You’re an asset to Luxe.”

  “I don’t really want to leave, but I can’t work in a place where I’m reminded of what I lost each day.”

  Allie reached over and touched her graffitied skin. “You’re not an idiot, and work will get better.”

  “I’m awful at choosing good men, but I’m good at my job. Only one of those makes me an idiot.”

  “I hear Chris is your ex-husband. You’ve been working at the resort with him for years.”

  A bitter laugh broke free. “Chris wasn’t much of a loss.”

  “Let James explain. If after he discloses his secrets, and you still want to quit, I’ll reluctantly accept your resignation.”

  “James has secrets? Can it get any worse? First, I think he’s cheating, which you say is not the case. Now there are secrets. That’s worse. Secrets are the cousin of lies, and I don’t do lies.”

  Allie motioned to button her lip. “You have to talk to James. Now tell me about your interviewees.”

  For the next thirty minutes, everything seemed normal. If the constant ache in her heart wasn’t there, she could pretend it was nearing noon again, and she’d be having lunch with James, but that wasn’t the case. It was nearing three, and she was on her way to confront him. What were his secrets?

  Chapter 20

  James

  With a cup of coffee in his hand, James stepped out of the lounge just as Dani and Allie exited the elevator. He followed them into the area where their offices were. Dani entered hers and closed the door.

  Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to put glass as her office wall. At least he could see her, even if she was scowling at him.

  “I can’t believe it,” his sister squealed from the office across from Dani’s. “Why didn’t you tell me the furniture came? Now I can move out of that room.”

  He turned and walked inside. “I was going to tell you but …” He turned to look at Dani, who was on the phone. “Everything went to shit.”

  “Danielle and I talked. She’ll be okay.”

  “What did you tell her?” Panic made his voice pitch like a pubescent teen. “You didn’t tell her everything, did you?”

  “No, I told her to talk to you about your secrets.”

  “Geez, Allie, why would you say it was a secret? Now she’ll think I’ve been lying to her.”

  She moved around the room like it was hers. “You have been.”

  He shook his head so hard it made him dizzy. “Not true. I may have omitted some facts, but I never lied to her.”

  “Men and your details.”

  “You’re impossible.” He took her hand and led her out of the office. “That’s my office.” He mar
ched her down the hallway and guided her into the room next door. “This is yours. Now, what did you tell her?”

  “That you and I have a non-sexual history.” She sat in her chair and kicked off her heels. “I’m not sure she’s convinced, but at least she’s now focusing on the secrets.”

  “I’ll talk to her.” He spun around and walked out.

  “Give her time,” Allie called after him.

  “I can’t,” he mumbled. “I’m desperate.”

  When he passed Dani’s office, she was still on the phone.

  She saw him looking in her window and turned around so he couldn’t see her face. Not one to give up easily, he paced the hallway for several minutes, waiting for her to hang up. Back and forth, he walked, trying to figure out what to say.

  Did he come out of the gate with, “I’m falling in love with you,” or did he start with, “I’m not who you think I am?” He let out a growl that would send most people running. “I’ll figure it out when I get there.”

  He approached her door and knocked. He could hear her voice rise and fall with each sentence. She laughed, but it wasn’t the kind of laugh that came from joy. This was a cackle that came from disbelief or hysteria.

  Not willing to wait another moment to explain himself, he opened the door and peeked inside.

  “Dani,” he began.

  She turned around and held up a single finger to stop him.

  “Trish, I have to go.” She ended the call and stared. “I have nothing to say to you right now.”

  He moved inside and shut the door. He considered rounding the desk and falling to his knees to beg for forgiveness, but he reminded himself there was nothing to forgive.

  “Good, because I’ve got plenty to say to you.” He took a seat in the chair in front of her desk. “Allie isn’t my lover.” A shudder ran through him at the thought. “She’s my sister.”

  Silence ate up several long seconds while she appeared to digest his words. When her eyes grew as big as baseballs, he knew she’d fully grasped the meaning of what he’d said.

  “Oh. My. God. If she’s your sister, then that means—”